Photo: from VCG

The US announced Tuesday it will again pull out of the UN's educational, scientific and cultural agency because of what Washington sees as its anti-Israel bias, only two years after rejoining, AP reported. 

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the withdrawal was linked to UNESCO's perceived agenda to "advance divisive social and cultural causes." She added in a statement that UNESCO's decision "to admit the 'State of Palestine' as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to US policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization," per AP.

This will be the third time that the US has left UNESCO, which is based in Paris, and the second time during a Trump administration. Trump had already pulled out during his first term and the US returned after a five-year absence after the Biden administration applied to rejoin the organization.

The decision will take effect at the end of December 2026.

Head of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, on Tuesday said the US announcement had come as no surprise, AFP reported. "I deeply regret President Donald Trump's decision to once again withdraw the United States of America from UNESCO," Azoulay said. "However regrettable, this announcement was expected, and UNESCO has prepared for it," per AFP.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar hails the US' decision, The Times of Israel reported. "We welcome the US administration's decision to withdraw from UNESCO," the foreign minister writes on X, saying, "This is a necessary step, designed to promote justice and Israel's right for fair treatment in the UN system," per The Times of Israel.

The US' announcement of withdrawal from UNESCO reflected its opportunistic attitude toward the UN: when it aligns with US' needs, the importance of the UN is emphasized, but when it doesn't, the UN is sidelined, said Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University. 

Li told the Global Times that the US attempted to hijack the overall healthy development process of the international community with its own domestic agenda.

"It fully demonstrates the destructiveness of American unilateralism and populism toward the UN and international cooperation," Li said.

According to Reuters, during his first term, Trump quit the UNESCO, the World Health Organization, the UN Human Rights Council, a global climate change accord and the Iran nuclear deal.

Former US President Joe Biden reversed those decisions after taking office in 2021, returning the US to UNESCO, the WHO and the climate agreement.